Mathew Withau vs. Igani Mokuro
Mathew Withau vs. Igani Mokuro & Kagona Ameko is a battle that takes place during Season Three. It is a battle between Hidden Leaf chunin Mathew Withau and members of Team Katsuna Igani Mokuro and Kagona Ameko. Prelude Team Kakashi was tasked with locating Team Katsuna and trailing them back to Orochimaru in order to locate Sasuke Uchiha. Team Kakashi located and followed the trail of Team Katsuna, and as his team slept, Kakashi Hatake continued the pursuit alone. Team Katsuna ambushed him, and as Kakashi fought back, the other members of his team arrived and joined in. Team Katsuna and Team Kakashi split off into multiple battles, and Matt took on Igani. Battle Igani starts off the battle with Ninja Art: Vine Rope, ensnaring Matt and slamming him into the ground. Matt quickly recovers, pondering how he can easily win against a shinobi who uses plant ninjutsu, but Igani then follows through with a Wood Style: Wood Spear. Matt intercepts the technique with a fire-kunai, and Igani then uses the Wood Style: Tree Binding Jutsu to capture him. Matt is completely incapacitated as Igani approaches him with a Wood Style: Wood Sword, but he breaks out with the use of a Rasengan. Igani then uses the Ninja Art: Venus Flytrap, but Matt quickly dispatches it with a Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu. Kagona then ambushes Matt from behind with the Fire Style: Dragon Saber, and joins the fight alongside Igani. Igani then attacks Matt with the Wood Style: Root Hammer, putting the chunin on his knees while Igani and Kagona attack him simultaneously. Matt easily dodges Kagona's fire jutsu, but he is then hit by Igani's Wood Spear, taking a severe injury to the shoulder. Nonetheless, Matt continues to fight against the pair. He attacks them with the Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu, but Igani uses the Water Style: Water Wall to counter it. Matt then attacks them from behind, but Igani counters him with a Wood Style: Root Hammer that sends Matt running. Matt evades the Root Hammer, eventually cutting the end of it off to prevent it from following him, and Igani attacks him with the Wood Style: Multi-Wood Spear. Matt counters the attack with Wind Style: Giant Air Shield, and stands ready for their next strike. The three continue battling, but Igani captures Matt with a Vine Rope, pulling him down to the ground where the Leaf chunin is then tied down with several more vines. Now helpless, Matt is left at the mercy of Igani and Kagona as they approach him. Matt then reveals himself to be a Shadow Clone, and he attacks Igani from behind with his Chidori. Kagona warns Igani of the impending attack, and Igani is able to successfully evade it. Matt, bitter that his ploy didn't work, continues to battle the two. Kagona coaxes Matt into attacking him, which Matt is happy to do. Later, Igani activates the Ninja Art: Vine Spike Trap, and Matt flies through the forest with the help of his Flight Jutsu, evading the vines as they pierce the forest around him. Igani then conjures a large wall of wood for Matt to crash into, breaking his nose and sending him crashing into the ground. Kagona prepares to strike as Igani checks Matt's condition, and Matt attacks Igani once again before jumping onto the wood wall. Kagona leaps away, and Matt uses the Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu against them both. Kagona escapes into the forest, and Igani uses the Wood Style: Domed Wall Jutsu to protect himself from Matt's jutsu. Igani uses a Vine Rope technique to catch Matt, who is unsuccessful in dodging, and he is pulled down and slammed into the wood wall. Matt drops to the ground while Igani and Kagona approach him, and Matt throws fire-kunai at them both. Igani and Kagona dodge the explosives, and as they attack him in unison, Matt successfully dodges both attacks. The battle continues, and Matt is backed into the wood wall just as Igani attacks him with a Wood Spear. Matt narrowly escapes the strike, and he drops down as Igani tears the Spear through the wall. As Matt escapes, Kagona attacks him with his Dragon Saber, but Matt's Shadow Clone attacks him from out of nowhere, knocking Kagona away. As Matt makes a stand, Kagona and Igani decide to hold back for the moment. Matt then goes on the offensive against them, and Igani summons another Wood Style: Wood Wall to defend himself. His path to Igani being blocked, Matt then attacks Kagona, who meets him with gusto. Igani supports Kagona, but Matt successfully fends them both off. As the duo regroups, Matt decides to go help his allies, but Kagona and Igani ambush him before he can make it there. Matt evades an assault from the two of them, and he is pursued by one of Igani's Wood Spears. Matt tries to get the Wood Spear off his trail, eventually resorting to the Wind Style: Giant Air Shield, but the Wood Spear is already within the jutsu's radius. The Wood Spear pierces Matt's shoulder, running him through and leaving him free for Igani to swing him around and into the ground. Matt flees in an attempt to set up an ambush, but Kagona finds him and assaults him. In spite of his injury, Matt escapes the assault without further harm, and he stands against Kagona. The three of them then take the fighting to the trees above, and while Matt and Igani are in near-equal measures of exhaustion, Kagona is barely phased. Matt fires a Fireball Jutsu at them, but they both evade it, and Kagona returns fire with the same technique. Igani attacks Matt, but Matt fends him off and is attacked by Kagona from behind. Matt is blasted into the ground by Kagona's Dragon Saber technique, and Igani binds him with his Vine Ropes while Kagona attacks with the Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu. Matt counters these with a Fireball Jutsu, and Igani attacks him. Matt attempts to defend himself, but Igani overpowers him and throws him into a tree. The fight continues, and Matt evades a Fireball Jutsu from Kagona. Igani attacks him with a Wood Spear, and while Matt evades the worst of the attack, he still sustains injury. Igani then switches to a Wood Sword, and Matt rolls out of the way of Igani's strike and jumps away to gain some distance. Matt then attacks Igani with a Chidori, and Igani uses a Wood Style: Wood Wall to defend himself. Matt pierces the wall with his jutsu, but he is trapped in the wood, leaving Kagona open to attack. He uses a Phoenix Flower Jutsu, destroying the Wood Wall and sending Matt crashing to the ground. However, Matt gets back to his feet and prepares for his foes' next strike. Igani attacks him with a Wood Spear, but Matt evades and counters it, and then conjures two Shadow Clones to combat them. An unfazed Igani boldly states that he and Kagona can take on any number of clones that Matt brings, and Matt tells them to prove it. Igani tells Kagona to battle the real body while he himself fights the clones, and Kagona complies. Igani quickly dispatches Matt's clones while Kagona clashes with the main body, and when Igani joins in, Matt is severely injured. In spite of this, Matt continues to fight, dodging an attack from Kagona. Igani then confronts Matt in hand-to-hand combat, and Matt's injuries stunt his ability to fight back, causing him to sustain further harm. However, Matt is able to escape any fatal injuries and attacks Igani in return, and he then turns to face Kagona. The two attack each other, Matt using Rasengan against Kagona's Fire Style: Dragon Saber, and the area around them is destroyed by the impact. Their jutsu then explode, blinding Matt in smoke. When he comes out, he sees both Kagona and Igani escaping, effectively ending the battle. Aftermath With Igani and Kagona nowhere to be found, Matt goes off in search for his team. Team Kakashi reunites near Team Katsuna's hideout, preparing to go in and find Sasuke. At that moment, Team Katsuna's hideout is destroyed, revealing Orochimaru and Kabuto Yakushi atop the former's giant snake. As Orochimaru converses with the members of Team Kakashi, Naruto becomes angry and begins to let out the Nine-Tails inside of him. Orochimaru states that he would like to fight the Nine-Tails, but that he wouldn't want to deny Team Katsuna the opportunity. Team Katsuna then returns to the battlefield and prepares to fight again. Naruto requests to switch opponents, and Matt accepts just as Team Katsuna makes their move. Category:Battle